Die holder



A. GILBERT DIE HOLDER Dec. 26, 1967 Filed Sept. 2:5, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet1 INVENTOR. Alex Gilbert /-//s A TTORNEYS Madman m Dec. 26, 1967 A.GILBERT 3,359,781

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HIS A TTOR/VEYS United States Patent 3,359,781 DIE HOLDER Alex Gilbert,Horseshoe Drive, RD. 3, Latrobe, Pa. 15650 Filed Sept. 23, 1965, Ser.No. 489,629 14 Claims. (Cl. 72-462) This application relates to a dieholder and particularly to a die holder for positioning a pair of diesto hold a workpiece during a forging operation.

During forging, it is conventional practice to hold the workpiece to beshaped in forging dies. The typical forging die is comprised of twocomplementary dies: at lower die adapted to rest on the die block ortable of a forging press and to support the workpiece, and an upper dielocated above the lower die and in contact with the workpiece inposition to be struck or pressed by the hammer of the forging press.

In most forging operations, it is necessary to reposition the workpiecewithin the dies between hammer strokes. To do this, the dies aredisengaged from the workpiece, usually by raising the upper dievertically from the piece, rotating or moving the workpiece on thebottom die, and replacing the upper die on the workpiece. Uponcompletion of the forging operation, the upper die is lifted from theworkpiece and the dies are rotated, thereby upsetting the workpiece frombetween the dies.

Conventionally, a long handle or rod extends outwardly from the side ofeach die. By grasping the handle, the die may be lifted and moved to itsproper position in the press. Usually two men are needed to move a diein this manner.

When heavy or bulky dies are to be moved, it is common practice to mounta traveling crane on a track above the press. A chain extending from theoverhead crane is wrapped around the handle of the upper die, the die israised on the chain and the crane moves to position the die.

Small workpieces are generally positioned and turned within the dies byhand, while larger ones ofter require the use of a machine known as amanipulator or high lift machine.

Using my die holder, one man can position and locate a workpiece withinthe dies quickly and accurately. The die holder can be used inconjunction with a manipulator or high lift machine available aroundmost presses, to position even the largest dies. On completion of aforging operation, my entire holder may be rotated easily bya-manipulator to upset the finished workpiece from between the dies.

Basically, my preferred die holder comprises a pair of elongatedparallel ar-ms spaced from each other, one arm adapted to engage ahandle which extends outwardly from each die. The upper arm, whichincludes a grip for raising the arm, is spaced from and joined to thelower arm by means of struts and guides which prevent relative lateraland horizontal movement between the arms. By raising the grip, theentire die holder can be lifted onto and removed from the table of thepress, the lower arm hanging vertically on the struts beneath the upperarm. Upon separation or closing of the arms, the dies are opened orclosed around the piece to be forged, the movement of the diescorresponding to the movement of the arms. At all times during operationof the die holder, the arms remain vertically aligned and parallel toeach other.

My invention further includes novel means for attaching and disengagingdifferent types of forging dies, such as swage dies or drop forge dies,to the arms of the die holder. Ordinarily, several die changes arerequired each day to accommodate the different types of forgings to be3,359,781 Patented Dec. 26, 1967 made. For two men to manually changethe dies takes almost one-half hour, thus, it is evident that fourchangeovers would deprive the average shop of nearly one-fourth of itsproductive day. By using my die holder, the same die changes can be madein minutes.

Each arm of my die holder includes a locking die mount having a socketinto which the handles of the dies fit and are secured; the die handles,therefore, act as extensions of the die holder arms and operate inresponse to movement of the arms. To change the dies, an operator can,with minimum effort, disengage the handle from the socket, remove a dieand replace it with a different one. In a short six-step operation, oneman can accomplish a changeover in less than one-half the time presentlyrequired by two. In addition, the space saved around the press resultsin a more efficient and safer work environment.

My die holder is simple and inexpensive to fabricate, since it can bemade from readily available stock on conventional metal-workingmachines. It requires little maintenance, even when used in a corrosiveenvironment such as that around a press or furnace, since it has but fewmoving parts.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated certain presentlypreferred embodiments of my invention in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of my die holder with the alternate openposition of the holder shown in broken lines;

FIGURE 2 is a partial section of the upper arm taken along the lineIII'I of FIGURE 1, showing the strut arrangement of my die holder;

FIGURE 3 is a partial section of the front of the upper arm taken alongthe line III-III of FIGURE 1, showing the socket in my die mount withthe die handle re moved;

FIGURE 4 is a partial section of my die mount taken along line IVIV ofFIGURE 3, showing the slide or bottom of the socket;

FIGURE 5 is a partial section of my die mount taken along line VV ofFIGURE 3, showing the top of the socket;

FIGURE 6 is a partial section of my die mount along line VI-VI of FIGURE3, showing a side view of the socket;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view on a smaller scale of a die and my die handleconstruction; and

FIGURE 8 is a side elevation on a smaller scale of the die and my diehandle construction.

Referring to FIGURE 1, dies 10 and 12 have handles 14 and 16 forsecuring the dies to two parallel U-shaped elongated horizontal arms 18and 20 of my die holder. Arms 18 and 20 are vertically spaced from oneanother and joined together by a plurality of diagonal scissorstypesupporting means or struts 22 and 24. The legs 26 and 28 of the U-shapedarms lie in parallel vertical planes, with the edges of the legs facingeach other. The ends of struts 22 and 24 are pivotally secured betweenthe legs 26 and 28 of the U-shaped arms 18 and 20 by laterally extendingrods 30 and 32 at the ends of the arms away from the dies. The rods 30and 32 slide in longitudinal slots 34 and 36 in opposite legs 26 and 28of the U- shaped arms. At the end of the arms nearest the dies, thestruts 22 and 24- are held by pins 38 and 40 which extend throughopenings 44 and 46 in the legs 26 and 28 of the U-shaped arms, thencethrough longitudinal slots 48 and 50 of slides 52 and 54, hereinafterdescribed. The lower portions of the legs 26 and 28 of the U-shapedarms, at the end of the arms nearest the dies, are cut away toaccommodate the slides when the slides are in the closed position.

Sleeves 56 are mounted rigidly to the outside of legs 26 of the lowerU-shaped arm 18 perpendicular to arms 18 and 20 to provide a passagethrough which tubular guides 58 slide. Guides 58, which are rigidlyattached to the outside of the legs 28 of the upper U-shaped arm 20,prevent lateral or longitudinal displacement of the arm 20 when it israised or lowered in conjunction with the opening or closing of the diesand 12 or subjected to the force of a hammer blow. While guides 58sliding in guide sleeves 56, that is, the guide means, alone do notmaintain the parallel relationship between arms 18 and 20, the guides,together with the struts, do provide stability to the holder structureand minimize the possibility of damage to the supporting struts.

The end of the upper arm 20 away from the die has a grip 60 which isgrasped by hand or by a mechanical manipulator to vertically separatethe upper arm 20 from the lower arm 18, thus opening the dies, and tomove the holder onto and away from the table of a forging press. Thegrip 60 has a diamond-shaped cross-section, providing a large surfacearea to be held to operate the die holder.

The struts 22 and 24 are joined by a bolt 62 midway in their lengths toprevent twisting of the struts under the weight of the upper arm 20 andthe die 12 attached thereto, and to provide a more stable holderplatform. To provide clearance between the arms, so that the dies may beeasily engaged and disengaged, a stop plate 64 may be attached to theend of lower arm 18 to extend vertically upward therefrom to contact thebottom of grip 60 on upper arm 20, as shown in solid lines in FIGURE 1.

During the forging operation, the base 66 of U-shaped lower arm 18 maybe seated on a table or other support (not shown) and lower die 10 isrested on the table or die block of a forging press (also not shown). Toposition the workpiece within the die, grip 60 on arm 20 is liftedcausing the ends of struts 22 and 24 held by rods 34 and 36 to translatein the direction of the dies and resulting in arms 18 and 20 separatinga distance sufiicient to open dies 10 and 12 to admit a workpiece; aftera piece is properly placed on the bottom die, the upper arm is thenlowered, moving the upper die onto the workpiece. During the entireoperation, from the fully closed position of the dies, as shown in solidlines in FIGURE 1, to the open position, as shown in alternate dashedlines on the same figure, the arms 18 and 20 remain vertically alignedand parallel to each other.

FIGURE 2 illustrates the relative positions of the struts to each other.The struts 22 and 24, joining the arms 18 and 20, form a scissors-typesupport and adjustable guide mechanism. The diagonally opposed struts 22and 24 are pivoted on the pins 38 and 40 at their ends nearest the diesso that the struts can rotate, upon separation of the arms, in oppositedirections about the pins. The opposite ends of the struts are joined torods 30 and 32 for sliding rotation about the rods, and, when the armsare separated, the rods move longitudinally toward the dies in the slots34 and 36 in the legs 26 and 28 of the U-shaped arms.

Each of the arms 18 and 20 has a die mount for securing the die handlesto the arms. Since the mounts are identical, only one is shown inFIGURES 2 to 6, inclusive.

The die mount includes a rectangular pivot block 68 mounted on the base70 of the U-shaped arm 20. A pair of hasps 72 are longitudinally alignedand secured to the top of the block 68. Pivot bolt 74 secures latch bolt76 between the hasps. Vertical grooves 80 are located in each side ofthe block 68 and have a cross-section greater than the diameter of thelatch bolt 76. Grooves 80 permit the latch bolt 76 to rotate around thepivot bolt 74 and to extend vertically downward along each side of theblock 68. Lock or thumb screw 82 threaded to the depending end of thelatch bolt 76 locks the mount when assembled.

I have shown, in FIGURE 4, the slide 54 rotated and depending from thepins 40. The slide 54 is pivotally and slidably mounted to close againstthe legs 28 to secure a die handle to the upper arm 20. The slide 54comprises a U-shaped member having legs 84 and a base 86; the ends ofthe legs 84 are rotatably secured to pins 40. A rectangular plate 88 ismounted centrally on and parallel to the base 86.

Groove 92 is cut normally into each leg 84 so that when the slide isclosed groove 92 is aligned vertically with groove in the block 68.Groove 92 is also of sufficient cross-section to include the diameter oflatch bolt 76, so that the bolt 76 may be vertically depended to lockthe mount.

A lateral open-end slot 94 is located at the end of each leg 84 and isspaced from the base 86. Slot 94 is adapted to engage pin 96 extendingoutwardly from the leg 28 of the U-shaped arm 20 to prevent rotation ofthe slide 54 about the pin 40 while the operator is locking the mount.

As shown in FIGURE 5, a rectangular cross-member 102 is mounted on thebase 70 between the legs 28 of the arm 20. Cross-member 102 ispositioned to engage a complementary portion of the end of die handle16.

The rotatable slide 54 and the front end of the U- shaped arm 20 betweenthe legs 28 broadly make up a socket 104 which, when closed by forcingthe slide 54 against the edges of the legs, as by locking it with thethumb screw 82, embraces and holds securely the end of the die handle16.

As shown in FIGURE 7, the width of handle 16 approximates the distancebetween opposed legs of a U- shaped arm into which handle 16 extendswhen assembled. The end of handle 16, as is clearly shown in FIGURE 8,includes a groove 106 on the top of handle 16 spaced from the end of thehandle. A raised portion 108 at the end of handle 16 defines a shoulder110 on the bottom of the handle spaced from the end of handle 16.

When the U-shape in the upper arm of my die holder is closed by theslide 54, that is, when the edges of the opposed legs 28 of the arm 20are contacted by the base 86 of the slide 54, it is apparent, as shownin FIGURE 6, that the plate 88 and the member 102 directly oppose eachother. Further, when the socket is formed, plate 88 and member 102 arespaced from each other a distance only slightly greater than thethickness of the die handle 16 less the depth of groove 106 running thelateral width of the handle. Cross member 102 and plate 88 are slightlygreater in length than the Width of handle 16, and member 102 is justslightly less in'section than the crosssection of groove 106 in which ittightly rests.

To lock the die handle within the socket, the member 102 is disposed ingroove 106 and the slide 54 is rotated to close against the edges of thelegs 28 of the arm; the shoulder of plate 88 abuts against shoulder 110of handle 16, thus preventing longitudinal motion between the handle andthe socket 104. Lateral movement of the handle 16 is precluded byupstanding legs 28 of the arm 20, between which handle 16 is secured.

It is obvious that a complete change of dies in my holder is easy andeconomical, taking but one man a few minutes compared to the twenty tothirty minutes used by two men in present practice. To release the diesfrom their mounts, the slides are mounted horizontally toward the diesto disengage the slots from the retaining pins and permit the slide legsto be rotated around the pivot pins journaled in the slots in the slidearms.

It is apparent that in order to disengage the lower die the slide, oneunlocked, must be moved toward the dies and rotated in a verticaldirection toward the upper the socket of the die mount of the lower arm.If it is desired to insert a new set of dies in the die holder, theoperation used in removing the old set is reversed.

From the foregoing description of my invention, it can be seen that theshape or weight of the workpiece to be forged, or of the dies, isimmaterial to the effectiveness of my die holder. All that is requiredis that the holder be constructed of materials sufficient to support thedies and that the means to open and close the dies, whether manual orpower-operated, is of sufficient strength to lift the upper arm. I

My die holder provides an efiicient and accurate way to manipulate thedies for proper positioning in a forging press while eliminating wastedchangeover time during forging operations. Where the work area about apress is limited, my die holder will replace present equipment whichoccupies substantially more space. Finally, my die holder is safe andeasy to install, to operate, and to remove with a minimum of manpower ina minimum of time.

While I have shown and described preferred embodiments of my invention,it is to be understood that it may be otherwise embodied within thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A die holder for positioning a pair of upper and lower dies in aforegoing press, each of said dies having a handle extending outwardlytherefrom, said press having a table for seating the lower die, saidholder comprising (A) a lower arm having means on an end for detachablysecuring the handle of the lower die to said arm;

(B) an upper arm vertically aligned with and spaced parallel to saidlower arm and having (1) means on an end for detachably securing thehandle of the upper die to said arm and being aligned vertically withthe means on said lower arm;

(2) means on the opposite end for raising the upper arm vertically fromthe lower arm; and

(C) means joining said arms for vertically aligning said arms parallelto each other and for adjustably supporting said lower arm verticallybeneath said upper arm when said lower die is removed from the tablewhereby the dies may be vertically separated a distance corresponding tothe separation of the arms to position a workpiece therebetween.

2. A die holder as described in claim 1 in which the means fordetachably securing each of the die handles to an arm is a die mountadjacent each die, said mount having (A) a cross member mounted on thearm to engage a handle;

(B) A slide having a plate secured thereto and being pivotally mountedto swing toward and away from the the cross member, said plate beingadapted to engage the handle to hold the handle in the mount betweensaid cross member and said plate when the slide is closed against thearm.

3. A die holder as described in claim 2 and in which the top of saidhandle has a groove to receive said cross member and the bottom of saidhandle has a shoulder to abut against said plate thereby preventinglongitudinal movement between said handle and said mount.

4. A die holder as described in claim 1 wherein the means for raisingthe upper arm is a grip shaped to be grasped by a manipulator for movingsaid upper arm vertically to separate said dies.

5. A die holder as described in claim 4 and having stop means rigidlyattached to said lower arm and extending vertically upward therefrom forcontacting said grip to space said lower arm from said upper arm.

6. A die holder as described in claim 1 in which the means joining saidarms comprises at least two diagonally opposed struts, opposite ends ofeach strut being pivotally joined to diagonally opposite portions ofsaid arms.

7. A die holder as described in claim 1 and having guide means joined tosaid arms for vertically aligning said arms.

8. A die holder as described in claim 7 wherein the guide meanscomprises guides rigidly attached perpendicular to said upper arm andsleeves attached to said lower arm, whereby said guides slide in saidsleeves upon vertical separation of said arms.

9. A holder for manipulating an upper and a lower die in a forgingpress, said upper die being vertically aligned with and complementary tosaid lower die, each of said dies having a handle extending horizontallyoutward therefrom to engage said holder, said holder comprising (A) alower elongated arm having means on an end for engaging the handle ofthe lower die;

(B) an upper elongated arm being parallel to and vertically aligned withsaid lower arm and having (1) means on an end for engaging the handle ofthe upper die and being aligned vertically with the means on said lowerarm; (2) a grip secured to said upper arm at the opposite end to begrasped to separate the arms; and

(C) means between the arms for supporting said upper arm above saidlower arm in vertical alignment thereto when said lower die is seated inthe press and for supporting said lower arm below and in verticalalignment with said upper arm when said lower die is removed from thepress and the holder is raised by said grip, said means being adjustablefor varying the distance between said arms to open and close said dies.

10. A holder as described in claim 9 in which the means between saidarms for supporting said arms in vertical alignment is at least one pairof diagonally opposed scissors-type struts, each strut having an endvertically aligned with an end of the opposed strut, each of saidvertically aligned ends being joined to one of said arms, each of saidarms having a longitudinal slot therein at the end thereof nearest thegrip on said upper arm, said slots being vertically aligned with eachother, a lateral rod being journaled in each of said slots, eachvertically aligned end of the opposing struts being joined to a rod forrotation and translation, a pin being journaled in each arm spaced fromand parallel to said rod, each end of said struts opposite saidvertically aligned ends being rotatably secured to a pin, whereby an endof each strut rotates on a pin journaled in one arm and the opposite endof said strut being joined to a rod journaled in a slot in the other armmoves toward the dies to adjust said struts when the upper arm isseparated from the lower arm by raising said grip.

11. A holder as described in claim 9 and having guide means mounted onthe arms and being perpendicular to the lengths of the arms formaintaining the arms in vertical alignment.

12. A holder as described in claim 11 in which the guide means comprisesa guide rigidly attached to one arm and a sleeve rigidly attached to theother arm, the central axis of said sleeve being vertically aligned withthe central axis of said guide, whereby said guide is adapted to shiftvertically within said sleeve upon movement of the arms to and away fromeach other.

13. A mount for a holder for a die, said die having a handle extendinghorizontally outward therefrom to engage said mount, said handle havingan outer end, a lateral groove on the top of said handle and spaced fromsaid outer end, a lateral shoulder on the bottom of said handle andspaced from said outer end, said holder having a U-shaped arm having abase and a pair of parallel legs upstanding from the base and an end toreceive said handle, said mount comprising (A) a lateral cross membermounted on said base between said legs to engage said groove;

(B) a slide pivotally secured to said legs to close against the edges ofsaid legs and having a plate to claim 13 in which the latching meanscomprises a pair of 10 latch bolts pivotally secured to the top of saidblock and laterally spaced one from the other, said bolts extendingalong said slide, said slide having vertical grooves therein alignedwith the bolts, said grooves being of sufiicient cross-section toreceive said bolts, and locking means on said bolts for forcing saidslide toward said block to lock said handle in said mount.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 328,435 10/1885 Simpson 72-420CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner. G. P. CROSBY, Assistant Examiner. A

1. A DIE HOLDER FOR POSITIONING A PAIR OF UPPER AND LOWER DIES IN AFOREGOING PRESS, EACH OF SAID DIES HAVING A HANDLE EXTENDING OUTWARDLYTHEREFOM, SAID PRESS HAVING A TABLE FOR SEATING THE LOWER DIE, SAIDHOLDER COMPRISING (A) A LOWER ARM HAVING MEANS ON AN END FOR DETACHABLYSECURING THE HANDLE OF THE LOWER DIE TO SAID ARM; (B) AN UPPER ARMVERTICALLY ALIGNED WITH AND SPACED PARALLEL TO SAID LOWER ARM AND HAVING(1) MEANS ON AN END FOR DETACHABLY SECURING THE HANDLE OF THE UPPER DIETO SAID ARM AND BEING ALIGNED VERTICALLY WITH THE MEANS ON SAID LOWERARM; (2) MEANS ON THE OPPOSITE END FOR RAISING THE UPPER ARM VERTICALLYFROM THE LOWER ARM; AND